Crossing the border with Blue Jays beat reporter Jordan Bastian.

Jays looking at Halama?

I’ve been told that the Blue Jays will have eyes on veteran lefty John Halama for his next start for Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Republic winter league.

Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos could not be reached for comment.

Halama, 37, spent last season with Triple-A Gwinnett in the Braves’ system, going 4-7 with a 4.48 ERA in 16 games (13 starts). Halama has not pitched in the Majors since 2006 and split his time as a starter and a reliever over nine big-league seasons.

Beyond the Jays, Halama’s agent, Joe Rosario, indicated that the Cubs, Brewers and Braves have all talked to him about the pitcher.

It’s not clear what level of interest Toronto has right now, but I’m assuming it would be more for bullpen depth at the Minor League level than anything else. So far this winter in the Dominican, Halama has been sharp, posting a 2.00 ERA over three starts with a 0.89 WHIP across 18 innings of work.

A bit of trivia: Halama was a part of the blockbuster trade that sent lefty Randy Johnson from the Seattle Martiners to the Houston Astros in 1998.

~JB

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2 Comments

Whether we actually sign Halama or not, to me isn’t the story. The story is we actually got a scout there watching the game. We’ve had a number of great Jays players come from the Caribbean, its awful nice to see us focusing on that area again.

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